The present invention relates to toughened blends of syndiotactic monovinylidene aromatic and amide polymers.
Blends of syndiotactic monovinylidene aromatic polymers, e.g. syndiotactic polystyrene (SPS) and polyamides, e.g. nylon, are known in the art, having excellent impact and heat resistance. Typically, these types of blends are toughened using various rubbery polymers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,890 issued to Nakano et al. discloses a resin composition containing SPS, nylon and optionally a rubbery block polymer. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,940 discloses SPS and polyamide blends, optionally containing block or grafted rubbers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,353 discloses blends of SPS with nylon toughened with block and maleated block copolymers. However, block copolymer rubbers are expensive and add significant cost to the blends.
Therefore, there remains a need to obtain more cost effective toughened SPS/polyamide blends while maintaining good impact and heat resistant properties.